Morning journal and courier., 1887-02-18
CHURCH MUSIC.

Some FeathureE of Music Given By
 Rev. Edwin P. Parker, D. D., of
 Hartford-P0fnts For Young Clergy.
 men.
 Rev. Edwin P. Parker, DD, of Hartford, gave his last lecture before the theological students yesterday afternoon. Many clergy men and ladies were present. The subject of the lecture was ''Church Music" The voice of human experience echoes the old assertion ''it IS good to give thanks unto the Lord. D Music has ever been the natural voice of man in praise. The musical instinct. has been
 powerful in producing hymns and adopting
 them to service for congregational singing.
 The musical service of the temple was in a
 large scale with many instruments In the Apocalypse of the New Testament we have a glowing description of the service in the
 New Jerusalem, built up from the symbols of the old prophetic period. There is little known of the history of music in the Chris | tian church. The chant at first was melo | dious kind of pronunciation which develop. ed into the Gregorian and other movements. ThePuritans allowed the psalms onlyto be sung without accompaniment; they were in metri- | cal versions; they hated organs and rid the church of them; they drove out the choire l and tore up the music books. Evidently the | mission of the Puritans was not to cultivate l music. The reaction which set in has not vet lost it's effect.
 The chief ends to be sought in music are expression and impression. To secure these | ends music must be to some extent congrega l tionsl Music may speak for an advo- cate for the client. The chant is the most ancient and common, as we'll as the simplest and most easy of expression. The metrical hx1r,a &r7na So olan 0 praise and should be sung by the congrega-
 ton. No choir leader, singer or organist should be tolerated who does not promote
 the congregation in singing. Every Moody has his Sankey. It is foolish to speak dog matically and say that only such kind of choir shall be tolerated in the church. MT.
 Parker then explained the dependence of the
 church music upon the minister and
 the calm, deliberate action necessa-
 " on his part in carrying
 on the clements smoothly. He said that the low condition of church music Tn this country is due to the lnexperience of the ministers. There are no two ends Tn a church and insubordination in the organist and choir is simply iasufferable. The speakers last point was the necessity of unity in church service, and in speaking of d1scord gave an account of his exchange with a brother minister for an evening service. The programme handed to him was somewhat as follows: 1, BalIooning by the choir; 2,scrip ture to be read reverentially by the officiating clergyman; 3,long prayer, in which the min ister is all alone and the congregation wool gathering; 4, ,ballooning by the choir; 5, ser mon; 6, prayer, with the minister alone, and the congregation wool gathering; ballooning by the choir; 8, benediction with the people meanwhile adjusting their outdoor equip ment; g. darkness, silence and the renewed presence of God. This order of service with Dr. Parker's additions very ludicrous and brought down the house. In closing he set forth the advantages of organ music and ad- vocated more of it in services regular and spec ial. The next lectures will be given next month by Dr. John Hall, of New York.